lush tropical paradise was destroyed along with their civilization. It is speculated that with no wood to build boats, they were stranded with few resources with which to live. At this point in history the Birdman practices took over as the dominate religion. Leadership was determined based on a grueling task where the strongest would scale the slopes of Rano Kau from the village of Orongo, then swim out to the three small islets in shark infested waters to bring back the unbroken egg of the sooty tern. Te winning swimmer would present the egg to the leader of his tribe, who then became Birdman and leader of the tribes for one year. Orongo has hundreds of petroglyphs of the Birdman and Make-Make, the omnipotent creator god, carved into the basalt. A moai with Birdman sym- bols carved into it was found at Oron- go; maybe the two groups had found a way to coexist. Perhaps that new cul- ture would have survived. In 1862 slave traders arrived and
took all the healthy individuals, so we will never know what their fate would have been had they remained as settlers on the island. Left only were the sick, injured and diseased until a final blow arrived that would completely destroy their culture. Missionaries came and converted the
remaining island inhabitants to Chris- tianity. Teir “salvation” came at a high price. Te invaders destroyed their way of life, dress, wooden sculptures, build-
thehubwinnipeg.com Moai under the Milky Way at Ahu Tongariki, Rapa Nui. Winter 2016 • 55
ings and religious artifacts. Te mis- sionaries’ most destructive act was the ruination of the people’s Rongo-Rongo tablets which contained a record of their now lost language. Te key to their history was destroyed, wiping the truth away forever. So few of these tablets re- main that no one has yet been able to decode them. Te people were forced onto one section of the island, and the rest became ranch land. All pure Rapa Nui natives died out.
Te Rapa Nui were an amazing peo-
ple. Te first arrivals would have found a lush island to live on with rich volca- nic soil. Living in such a remote area they began to take on different charac- teristics and form a completely unique culture. Tey built a highly organized and efficient society on a tiny island out of little or nothing. In the few hundred years it existed, their civilization cre- ated an enigma that has puzzled the world ever since.
Photo by Rivi. Photo by Anne Dirkse.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80